World traveler and baseball connoisseur…follow me as I embark on an incredible journey around the Major Leagues. Twitter: @MLBwayneMLB

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The Mariners were hosting the Chicago Whitesox tonight plus it was Ichiro Suzuki hit counter bobblehead night. So I figured Safeco would be packed. But batting practice wasn’t too bad. The lines weren’t as bad as I thought but I did have to show up an extra hour early to secure my spot in line. I didn’t attempt to enter the stadium at the centerfield gates this time because all of the gates were opening at 4:40pm. So I entered the stadium at the rightfield gates. As soon as I ran in I was quickly on the board with two easer eggs that I found in the rows. And as I was exiting the section there was a sharply hit foul ball that landed a few rows to my left. There was another fan chasing it down by trying to jump over the rows to get to it. But I let gravity work on my side and let the ball come to me. I gave it to the guy just for his hard effort at trying to chase it down. I thought he was going to seriously injure himself.

After the Mariners exited the field I ran over to the Chicago Whitesox dugout area. Omar Vizquel was playing catch with his son and just about everyone and their mother was trying to get his autograph. Vizquel isn’t known for being the friendliest guy either. So the fans that got his autograph should consider themselves very lucky.

Here is a picture of Omar and his kid.

After chasing Omar Vizquel’s autograph for about ten minutes I decided to go play foul territory for some baseballs. Here was my view.

And then after standing in that area for about 30 minutes I decided to go back down to the Whitesox dugout in hopes that the pitching coach might hook me up with a baseball after batting practice ended.

See how packed the rightfield bleachers were? Its tough to get a home run ball when its that tight.

About the only really cool thing that happened at tonight’s game (besides getting an Ichiro bobblehead) was that Rob Dyrdek showed up to throw out the first pitch. He came over to sign some autographs and I snapped a few pictures of him.

He was really cool about hooking people up with autographs before the game. I was in line for a few minutes to see if I could get his autograph on my ticket stub but so many older teenagers just shoved their way to the front of the line. One of the security guards tried to get things organized as best as he could but it was pretty much a loss cause. I even had adults shoving their way past me to get his autograph. But Rob was cool about it. He signed as many as he could until he had to go.

I made my way back to the Chicago side of the stadium and waited on the warmup ball from the Whitesox. I was quickly ran out by security but it really didnt matter. The Whitesox never came out to warmup in front of the dugout anyway. After that I made my way out to the outfield to sit and watch the game. It was another exciting Mariner win. They won with a Brendan Ryan single in walk-off fashion. The stadium exploded with cheers as the Mariners ran out onto the field to smother Ryan with rabbit punches, and a standing dogpile.

Game; May 6th 2011 Chicago Whitesox vs Seattle Mariners

Gameballs; Three

Attendance; 31,912

Snagging Baseballs for Puppies has raised; $27.20 this season.

Snagging Baseballs for Relief in Japan has raised; $10.75 this season.

Sundays game went off without a hitch. I thought there wasnt going to be any batting practice because it was a day game following a night game. But when I ran inside the cage was set up and the Indians were getting ready to start swinging. It was pretty rainy and cold out so I had to dress accordingly. I still dont think I dressed well enough. Its pretty miserable in the centerfield bleachers. Since its nearly impossible to sneak down into the lower box area to claim a seat I figured Id try elsewhere.

Once I got inside I thoroughly checked the lower first base side. Nothing. So I moved over to the third base area. I didnt bother checking the outfield bleachers for baseballs since the stadium was filling up rather quickly. Once I got to the third base side Chris Perez was doing some warmups. I thought about asking him for a baseball but I figured Id shower him with compliments first to butter him up. He did have a pretty good save the night before and I let him know that. He nodded to me and said thanks.

Here is a picture of him inbetween running the warning track.

Soon after his warmup he came over to sign some autographs. Here is another picture of him signing some baseballs for some kids.

Chris was a class act when he was with St Louis. Nothing has changed. Ive always admired him. Hes friendly and does what he can for the fans.

Now the next turn of events was quite humorous in my humble opinion but I guess it wasnt that funny to the other people. Kelvin De La Cruz and Tony Sipp started to play catch. As they were warming up, De La Cruz kind of overthrew Sipp. Well, the baseball rolled close by so I made an attempt at it. It got passed me and another fan ended up with it. Since it was their only baseball, Sipp requested it back. So the fan reluctantly gave it up. De La Cruz kind of suggested that he would get the fan another baseball. And when one was hit to him he tossed it to the fan that orginally had the baseball from the overthrow. Now in the Ball Hawking world there are plenty of unwritten rules. One rule is when a player specifically throws a baseball to a fan you do not rob that fan of the ball. Especially kids. Now. There are exceptions to the rules like always. If an adult, like in this case, drops the baseball and it lands back onto the field its pretty much up for grabs. Well, I watched this entire thing play out. De La Cruz tossed the ball, between three adults, they all seemed to bobble it and it scooted away back out onto the field just out of reach. So each of them made a sorry attempt at getting it back. What concerned me was security was on the way over to steal it. So I lunged for the ball and secured it in my glove. I started laughing but the three adults were clearly not happy. Anyway. Kelvin De La Cruz tossed them a second ball and they didnt drop it this time. I even hung back to give them room after a few smart-mouthed comments.

I left soon after to go play the outfield for the remaining portion of batting practice. I easily snagged my second baseball from the Indians bullpen catcher. I think thats who tossed it to me. Hes a short, chubby hispanic guy with a catchers glove. Ive seen him before and Im certain its not Carlos Santana. Anyway. He tried to shag a flyout and I just raised my glove for it after he missed it. He hooked me up immediatly.

After batting practice I went to grab some food. Safeco actually has some pretty awesome food and Im going to try and hit new places to eat around the stadium every Sunday. So be on the look out for some reviews of places to chow down. This Sunday I went here.

My review for this place would be five out of five. The cheeseburger I bought was exceptionally awesome. It had great taste, it was somewhat filling, and it wasnt a messy, sloppy jumble of puke-burgerness that most places sell. It has tomato, shredded lettuce, mayo, ketchup, pickle, and onion. Plus a 1/3 pound beef patty cooked to perfection. The price is a little steep though. It cost me $11.25 for the burger and a small coke. The burger alone is $7.25. Well worth it though.

The game was pretty entertaining. It was a decent pitchers duel but in the end the Mariners ended up getting swept by the division leading Indians. The final score was 2-1. Michael Saunders did put one in the seats but not anywhere I was sitting. I did get on the instant replay. Ive circled myself in red.

Im also starting a charity for the Seattle-King Co. Humanes Society. Its called Snagging Baseballs for Puppies. Its to help raise money for the Humanes Society shelter in the Seattle-King Co. area. So if you wan to help me you can make a pledge. Heres how it works; you make a pledge of a dollar amount. It could be any amount. But keep this in mind. I go to a lot of baseball games and I usually snag quite a few baseballs per game. So youll want to keep your pledge at a comfortable level. For every baseball I snag during the regular season, to include the playoffs and World Series, you will pledge a certain amount per ball. By the end of the season I will tally up all my baseballs and you will multiply your dollar amount per baseball and donate that much. For example. If you donate ten cents per baseball and I snag 100 baseballs, thats $10.00. Got it? Awesome. You can check out my snagging stats on this website.

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